


Alone At Sea

by thezeekrecord



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:46:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27880970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thezeekrecord/pseuds/thezeekrecord
Summary: About a year after Story and Song, Merle is approached by Lord Artemis to help rebuild Bottlenose Cove. Merle accepts, but thinks he's way in over his head. Before moving to his new home to start working, however, he finds a familiar boat docked near his beachside house.
Relationships: Davenport/Merle Highchurch
Kudos: 10





	Alone At Sea

**Author's Note:**

  * For [B100b100d](https://archiveofourown.org/users/B100b100d/gifts).



> this is a bday present for my extremely wonderful friend jaye!!!! i love u jaye i hope ur having a good birthday!!!!

Merle stepped out of his house that morning to find a ship docked just a little ways down the beach from him.

It was an overcast morning, the choppy water rocking the boat not too gently. He couldn’t see any signs of anyone on board—nobody on deck, and no light or movement could be seen from the windows peering into the cabin. It was an unexpected surprise, to say the least—it had been about a year already since he saw that ship, or even heard from its captain. Davenport had been so quick to run off on his own little adventures, while everyone else figured out where to settle down. It sort of stung, saying goodbye to all of his friends, but Davenport’s departure had gone so fast, he hadn’t truly had the time to process it.

It wasn’t to say he didn’t miss Davenport. He found himself idly wishing every now and again that they’d had at least a moment to catch up before Davenport left, but he never quite thought of himself as _yearning_ or anything dramatic like that. There was too much else to process and get acquainted with for his mind to be occupied like that. Still, the idle wishing did sort of ebb and flow, thinking back at random points in his day about campfires and that particular, stuck-up face he got with just the slightest twitch at the corners of his lips whenever he was trying very hard not to laugh at something. He loved joking around with all his friends, but Merle _particularly_ enjoyed moments like that with Davenport, both the times he’d try and fail maintain his professional demeanor and the times he’d break down laughing, giving into the joke alike.

With the ways he’d reminisce on those nights, Merle probably should have anticipated the way his heart would leap at the sight of that ship. His legs froze, caught between wanting to rush up to the dock and greet him with all the enthusiasm he deserved, or perhaps trying to keep his cool—it had been _so long_ since they’d really spoken. Like, actually sat down together without the pretenses of work or post-near-apocalypse and just enjoyed each other’s company. Merle’s stomach twisted into knots as he tried to figure out what he would even say. After a few moments spent frozen in place, deeply conflicted by his potential approach, Merle finally decided to do what he did best: shrug it all off and wing it.

Merle walked down the dock, looking the ship over carefully. He was surprised to find the deck a little messier than he’d anticipated; it wasn’t a pigsty or anything, but Davenport was always a hardass about ropes being coiled just right or securing boxes properly. Things were just nudged to the corners haphazardly now, about the level of mess he would expect from a _normal_ sea-faring man. Merle stepped onto the deck, glancing around before heading for the door leading inside the ship.

The inside wasn’t much better; tidier than Merle kept his place, but certainly enough to shake his expectations. A few dishes were left out in the sink, a thick, wool coat was left hung on the back of one of his only dining chairs, and couple books looked like they’d slid off whatever surface they had been left behind on and left behind on the floor. Merle picked one up curiously. It was a leatherbound journal, with Davenport’s beautifully looped handwriting inside. Merle would get the urge to snoop if it weren’t for the fact that despite the nice aesthetic of his handwriting, even in the hundred years they’d worked together, Merle never got the hang of reading it. He set it back down on the shelf it seemed to belong on, fingers lingering on the worn leather spine. It was certainly wishful thinking, but for a moment, he almost thought he could feel the warmth from Davenport’s hands on it.

“Excuse me? What are you doing in here?” A deep voice with the vaguest nasal quality demanded.

Merle turned, finding a tall human man stood in the doorway with his hands on his hips.

“This is _my ship,_ you have no right to be in here.” The man continued, standing taller, more imposing over Merle.

A grin threatened to flash across Merle’s face, but by some miracle, he managed to keep his composure. “Oh, I’m sorry, good sir, I thought this ship belonged to a friend.” Merle said, maybe overdoing the drama a little.

“It most certainly does not!” The man insisted. “Now, get off my ship! Unless you want me to remove you by force.”

“Hmmm...that’s so odd.” Merle said thoughtfully, brushing his fingers through his beard. “I could swear this is my friend’s ship...unless...”

Merle pulled out his Extreme Teen Bible, opening up a random page and taking a deep breath. “ _I cast Zone of—_ ”

“Wait, wait, Merle, it’s me!”

Yep—that nasally nature to his voice had returned. Maybe Merle would’ve believed it, if it weren’t for the fact that Davenport was never too good at disguising his own voice. The illusion flickered away, revealing Davenport underneath it. Merle could no longer hide a wide smile, stowing his Extreme Teen Bible away.

“I know, Dav, I was kidding!” Merle said with a laugh. “C’mon, how long have we known each other? You think you can trick me? I definitely got _you,_ though.”

Davenport put his hands up in defeat with a smile of his own. “You can’t blame me for _that._ You’d cast Zone of Truth on anything with a pulse.”

“Hey, I’m a nosy guy.” Merle replied with a casual shrug. Finally, he closed the distance between them, patting Davenport’s shoulder. “What the hell brings you here? I thought you were out exploring!”

“I was, uhh—well, I guess I was in the area.” Davenport said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Merle finally got the chance to at him closely. It wasn’t just his ship that was slightly unkempt—he’d gotten used to seeing him with his hair neat, clothes all carefully pressed and wrinkle-free, and a stiff posture. He looked _tired_ now, though, his hair that was normally combed back now loose and hanging free around his face. He hadn’t seen him like this in a while; only ever when he’d just woken up while they were living in close quarters on the Starblaster. Merle had almost forgotten about how his hair was loosely curled, like gentle ocean waves in the orange glow of morning. He had bags under his eyes, too, but his smile was so unreserved and genuine. He’d already shrugged off a thick coat that he now held in his other arm, revealing his white button-up that had been tousled underneath the coat, sleeves rolled up to his forearms and the couple top buttons left undone. Merle was reminded in a flood how Davenport didn’t seem to be fully aware of this about himself, but he pulled off the “effortlessly careless” look _perfectly._ He couldn’t think of any single other man who looked this good when he didn’t spend at least an hour pouring about half the day’s energy into looking professional.

Merle couldn’t help but remember a time he looked almost exactly like this, if a little more invigorated than now, way back in the Starblaster days. Davenport had agreed to help Merle collect some very interesting plants on one of the planets mostly untouched by civilization; there was an abundance of flowers that looked a lot like pitcher plants, actually, but entirely closed off and filled with a sweet gel that went _very_ well with tea. It had some sort of relaxing effect, helping the crew sleep much better than they’d ever slept in ages. Davenport had seemed like he was slipping, prior to that—everyone in the crew had their rough patches, suddenly feeling like they were at their wit’s end with all the stress of their constant running from the Hunger, searching for answers, never allowed to fully settle down.

They had found the Light early that year, too, and Merle couldn’t help but suspect that was probably all the permission Davenport needed to break. Truly, Merle didn’t _need_ the help collecting those plants—or “sleepy weepies”, as Taako and Lup had unofficially dubbed them—but Merle knew the benefits of repetitive, low-stakes teamwork very well. He’d dragged Davenport out of his quarters on the Starblaster and enlisted his help squeezing the gel out into jars to save for the year. Davenport had sort of complained at first about the mess, but as they got to talking, he finally came out of his shell a little bit. At the end of the day, Merle made him the first cup of tea with the miracle gel he’d accept—he was always uptight about potential unknown side effects, but it had been a few nights since Merle discovered the benefits of this stuff purely on a dare from Magnus—and he had finally caved and agreed to try it.

That next morning, he’d come out of his room with so much more energy than Merle thought he’d ever seen from him on mornings like that. He was _relaxed,_ joked around with the crew a little more, and agreed to help Merle again that day. Merle had expected him to get right back to his normal routine of perfecting his hair and clothes, all to look professional for, what, a crowd of trees? But Davenport stuck to an outfit almost exactly like he was currently wearing now, and Merle had realized as he stole glances at him that afternoon that he may have caught feelings for his captain.

They hadn’t had the time for him to act on that, though; Merle began his parleys with John, leaving him little time to actually talk to Davenport, and he could feel their friendship drifting. Davenport would spend years at a time only seeing Merle for a few moments before Merle would run off to get killed again, and he surely was out there forging all sorts of close bonds with everyone else in Merle’s place. Merle didn’t _resent_ that; he knew the importance of talking to John, even if he felt like he was missing out on so much. Then, on the years John spared him, they’d tend to end up so busy, Merle would never have the opportunity to try and rekindle anything with him.

“Merle?”

Merle snapped out of his thoughts. “Oh! Sorry. Spaced out for a minute there.” He muttered.

Davenport smiled again. Goddamn, Merle thought—he really _was_ still into him. He’d gone so long without seeing him, he’d begun to sort of doubt he might truly feel the same way if he saw him again, but he felt an intense swell in his chest like he was falling in love with him for the first time all over again.

“I asked you how you’ve been doing.” Davenport told him, giving Merle a curious look.

“Oh, well, y’know.” Merle shrugged casually. “Watching the kids, taking a temporary break from the Extreme Teen Adventures to help Artemis out around here with Bottlenose Cove. You know how it is.”

“Oh? Help rebuilding, you mean?” Davenport asked, nodding for Merle to join him in his little kitchen.

“Hey, why don’t you come over to my place?” Merle suggested. “I’m sure it’s been a while since you’ve had breakfast anywhere on solid ground, huh?”

“It hasn’t, actually, but I’d love to see your house.” Davenport replied with a smile, pulling his coat back on. His smile faded a little, though, as he fiddled with a button on the sleeve of his coat. “Umm—are your kids around?”

“Oh, nah, they’re out at their mom’s place.” Merle answered as he waved his hand dismissively. “I’m getting ready to move, actually, so they’re staying with her for a bit until I get all squared away.”

“Moving? Where?”

As they exited the boat and walked down the dock to head to Merle’s house, Merle nodded off in the distance towards the town. “A place more in the center of town, just to make getting Bottlenose Cove back up on its feet a little easier.”

“Wow. I feel like I’ve missed a lot.” Davenport said, crossing his arms over his chest as a cold breeze brushed past them.

“Ehh—it’s nothing exciting on my end.” Merle reassured him. “To tell you the truth, I’m a lot more interested to hear about what you’ve been up to, Captain.”

Davenport snickered as Merle pushed the door to his house open, stepping aside to let Davenport in first and latch the door shut behind him. Davenport looked grateful to be back somewhere warm, relaxing significantly at the crackling of the fire in Merle’s fireplace.

“Yeah, I’ve got a few stories by this point.” Davenport said, rubbing his hands together to warm up. He didn’t say it with much enthusiasm—just sort of resigned to the pleasantries of it all.

“Well, no rush.” Merle said, nodding to the couch. “Go ahead and get comfortable. You want some coffee?”

Merle filled the silence with stories of his own life now, as well as catching Davenport up on what he last heard everyone else was up to. Davenport seemed to be hanging onto every word; he didn’t seem to be in the know on _anything_ the others were doing. He sent out letters when he could to the crew, but it was so tough to track him down to send anything back—everything Merle told him as he cooked breakfast for him seemed to be entirely new information.

“Here we go! Breakfast is served.” Merle announced, setting out two plates. Davenport joined him at the dining table, Merle setting out a fresh cup of coffee for him as well before sitting down himself. “Sorry, it’s not anything fancy. I still haven’t learned much more about cooking.”

Davenport shrugged as he took a bite. “I don’t know, I think you’ve always been great at campfire dinners.” He said thoughtfully. “I think maybe cooking on a stove just doesn’t suit you as well. That’s Lup and Taako’s thing.”

Merle thought back with a smile to the nights he and Davenport would spend as their own survey team, away from the rest of the crew as they searched for the Light during a new cycle. Despite all the embarrassing social missteps—Merle had changed a lot in the years since arriving on this planet—he couldn’t remember those nights with anything but fondness. The fact that Davenport had retained such a small part of those memories sent a fluttering feeling through Merle’s chest. He smiled despite himself, embarrassed by how much that meant to him.

After breakfast, Merle took the opportunity to show Davenport around his house, the beach, then some of the town before he began to note the hints of sunset. They ambled back towards home together, Davenport finally filling some of their time with a story from his travels—he’d met a very nice couple who had needed some help recovering something from the ruins of their old town, and recovering it had started a domino effect of getting Davenport into some trouble with people trying to take political control of the area. Merle listened intently, imagining Davenport having to think on the fly in the way himself, Taako, and Magnus had as they were recovering the Grand Relics. He had no doubt in his mind that Davenport handled himself well in conflict like that, but Merle found himself wishing he’d been there to help—less a desire to protect him, and more to see him in action again.

Davenport could certainly be a lot of help here in Bottlenose Cove, Merle thought next. Merle was alright with the people of the town, and enjoyed finding ways to make everything work for them all as their new Earl, but he was garbage at the organization it required. Davenport would be good at that. Establishing a better infrastructure and schedule for everyone to work together on getting everything rebuilt would save Merle a lot of grief, he mused as they arrived back to his little stretch of beach.

“So...are you planning on staying long?” Merle asked him curiously, his house and Davenport’s ship in view.

“Oh, uhh...” Davenport paused. “Yeah, I was sort of hoping to. If that’s alright.”

“Of course!” Merle replied, patting his back roughly. “You’re more than welcome to stay with me at my place.”

“Oh, no no, I wouldn’t wanna impose.” Davenport denied anxiously. “I was just gonna sleep in my boat.”

“C’mon, Dav, I want you to stay.” Merle insisted. “You could stay in Mavis’ old room. She moved all her stuff outta there already, but I haven’t broken down the bed yet. I was gonna wait ‘till Magnus gets here to help.”

“Oh! You’re expecting Magnus?”

“Yeah, I told him I’d be moving, and he told me about his ‘moving furniture proficiency’, and insisted he’d come and help.” Merle recalled with a laugh.

Davenport laughed as well. “Yeah, that sounds like him. Well...I mean, I feel sort of weird imposing in your daughter’s room.”

“It’s _really_ not an issue at all! It’s barely even her room, anymore.”

“No, no, I, uhh—I should really be tending to my ship, anyway.” Davenport said anxiously, crossing his arms with an uncomfortable expression. “Really, Merle, it’s very nice of you to offer, I appreciate it a lot. But it’s just easier for me this way.”

Merle nodded slowly, trying not to let disappointment show through too clear on his face. “...Alright, then, Captain. Well, at _least_ stay for dinner, then.”

Davenport agreed on that much, at least, and they spent a long evening together as well. Merle couldn’t help but wonder, as the night went on, what was going on in Davenport’s head. He seemed so exhausted, so reserved like normal, and yet so eager to be in Merle’s company in such a strange way. Merle wanted to ask, but how does one ask something like that? He wondered.

The two of them shared plenty of wine as they decided to have dinner out on the beach, for old time’s sake. It was such a familiar feeling, being right beside Davenport in front of a roaring fire with something cooked up hastily in the great outdoors. He felt more at peace than he had in a while, letting go of the responsibilities hoisted on his shoulders from becoming Earl of Bottlenose Cove for at least a few hours. As he looked at Davenport, though, he looked like he was growing more thoughtful; he stared into the fire with a deep sip of his wine, a sort of distant look in his eyes as they sat in silence.

“...Hey, Dav, you doing alright?” Merle asked him gently.

“Hmm?” Davenport looked up, clearly shocked out of his thoughts. “Yeah! Sorry. I was just thinking.”

“Yeah, you certainly looked like you were.” Merle pointed out, nudging him playfully. “What’s on your mind?”

Davenport gave Merle a tired smile before it faded a little as he looked back at the fire. “...Just remembering our Starblaster days. Honestly...it’s sort of one thing to have all of that stuffed into your head at once. It’s a whole other thing entirely to actually _process_ those memories. You know?”

Merle nodded knowingly.

Davenport paused for a long moment, staring into the fire before he let out a long, exhausted sigh. He leaned forward to prop up his head in his palm. “...I’m _really_ tired, Merle.”

“Well, I could guess _that_ just lookin’ at you.” Merle teased. “...Is that why you’re here? Needed a little break from it all? Gotta say, you have good taste coming here. The beach’ll wash away any worry in the world.”

Davenport smiled again, swirling the wine in his glass. “Maybe a little. Kinda made me think back on that one planet we spent just relaxing on. But...” Davenport looked down at the sand beneath his feet, squirming a little on the log he was sitting on. “...Out of any beach I spent any time on, just trying to get myself to _relax_ for once, none of them have really had that effect on me. It’s helping a lot to be _here,_ though. I guess I’ve just been...lonely.”

Merle watched him carefully as he took another sip, averting his eyes as he spoke that last word. Merle couldn’t help but nod in understanding.

“Yeah, I’m sure that big open ocean doesn’t always do you too many favors.” Merle pointed out. “I’m glad you came here! It’s been really good to see you again.”

Davenport looked content at that. That exhausted air was still about him, but he sighed a little as he gave Merle a relaxed, happy look, face flushed a little from the alcohol. The shadows from the fire flickered over his face, and for a long moment, Merle was transfixed by him, unsure what to say to fill the silence. He wasn’t even certain he _wanted_ to fill the silence; it was enough to just be there with him again, reconvened after so many years and hardship.

Davenport looked away, suddenly, finishing off his wine and standing. “Thanks so much for hanging out today with me, Merle.” Davenport said, brushing his fingers through his hair. “I think I’m gonna head to bed for the night, though.”

Merle felt a pang of loss as Davenport gathered himself. “Oh. Alright then. G’night, Dav.”

Merle watched Davenport walk back to his ship with his things in his arms, disappearing into the cabin. Merle finished off his wine as well, sitting there for a few minutes longer before he began packing everything up himself, dousing the fire and heading back to his own lonely, empty house.

****

Davenport stayed for a few more days after that. He wanted to stick around to see Magnus, intent to catch up with him as well; Merle ended up receiving Davenport’s help packing up the rest of his belongings to move to the new house, despite Merle’s insisting he didn’t need the help. They worked in good harmony with each other, though, after Davenport sort of rearranged how Merle organized everything. Soon enough, everything was packed away neatly in boxes, and Magnus arrived a little earlier than promised.

Merle had been sitting on his porch in the morning when he saw him out in the distance, a couple of dogs in tow—of course. Merle waved at him as he approached over the hill, down the trail to the beach proper. The dogs ran ahead, barking all the way as they hurried to investigate their destination. Before Merle knew it, he had a couple of massive dog faces shoved into his space, licking his beard and face enthusiastically.

“Merle!” Magnus greeted once he was close enough to be heard. Smiling, Merle nudged the dogs’ faces away as Magnus called them off so he could stand. In an instant, Merle was already scooped up into a powerful hug. “It’s great to see you! It’s been too long.”

“Yeah, sure has.” Merle grunted, voice strained from Magnus’ hug. “Could you put me down?”

Magnus complied, standing up tall with his hands on his hips. “I figured I’d come a little early to help you pack everything up! It sounded like a lot of work to do on your own.”

“Actually, we already got everything squared away.” Merle replied, indicating back into the house. “We’re ready to start moving everything over.”

Magnus looked in surprise at the open door, finding boxes neatly filed along the walls. “Oh! I thought your kids were staying with their mom.”

“They are.” Merle said, nodding over to Davenport’s ship by the dock. “Davenport showed up a few days ago and insisted he’d help me out.”

Magnus’ face split into a massive grin. “Cap’nport’s here?” He asked. “I haven’t heard from him in _months!_ I kept sending him letters, but I wasn’t sure if they were reaching him! I was starting to get worried.”

“Yeah, he’s fine. Fine enough.” Merle replied, turning towards the house and waving for Magnus to follow. “You want some food? Davenport’s usually up and about in a few minutes.”

Merle was lucky Magnus was never really a picky eater; most of his things were already packed away, so that made for a very simple breakfast. He set out some food for the dogs as he cooked, and shortly after, Davenport appeared in the doorway.

“Oh! Magnus!” Davenport greeted in surprise.

“Cap’nport!” Magnus exclaimed, hugging Davenport much in the same way as he did Merle minutes before. “I haven’t heard from you in so long! It’s great to see you!”

Davenport grunted, patting Magnus’ shoulder. “Yeah—great to see you, but you’re crushing me.”

Magnus set Davenport down with a massive smile. “Man, and I was telling Merle it’d been too long since I saw him. I haven’t actually seen you in person since you left after the whole Hunger fight!”

“Yeah, sorry about that.” Davenport laughed sheepishly. “I wanted to visit more often, but once you get out there, you sorta lose track of how long it’s been.”

“I hear that.” Magnus replied with a nod. “Well, I wanna hear about everything I missed!”

Davenport and Magnus sat down as Merle set out their breakfast. Davenport retold a few stories Merle had already coaxed out of him, and soon after, they set to work on collecting boxes. Merle was beyond lucky to have people help him out; as he struggled with heavy boxes now, he would immediately receive help, either Davenport helping him lift it to carry out to a handcart together, or Magnus taking it from him entirely. It was an exhaustingly long day; they made several trips between Merle’s beach house and his new home, Magnus broke down all his furniture, and set to rebuilding it all once everything was relocated to the new house. As Magnus busied himself with that, Davenport helped Merle unpack some of the main things he would immediately need, helping him figure out the best placement for everything. His ideas were the most efficient, for sure—Merle had just been intent to sort of throw things wherever and let it all sort itself out over time. By the time Magnus had swiftly gotten all their furniture back in order, they all settled down for dinner, intent to take the rest of the night off from working.

“Seriously, guys, thanks for helping me move.” Merle said as he handed them their food. “I wasn’t sure _how_ I was gonna get everything all set up back when Artemis offered me this gig.”

“Of course! It’s really just an excuse to come out and see you, honestly.” Magnus admitted happily. “It’s been really fun seeing you, too, Captain! I’m glad I made the trip.”

“Oh, yeah, it’s been great seeing you both.” Davenport agreed sort of bashfully. “Now that you’re getting all set up, Merle, I guess you probably have some work to be getting to after this, huh?”

“Uhh—oh, yeah. I guess so.” Merle replied, combing his fingers through his beard. “Yeah, I’ll be needing to start figuring out how to get this whole place back in shape...”

“Why don’t you come back with me to see my business, Cap’nport?” Magnus asked. “We could take a detour on the way back and visit Taako and Kravitz, too! They’re not too far off the route back to my place.”

“Oh! That would be great.” Davenport replied pleasantly. “I’d been hoping to sort of catch up with everyone.”

Merle frowned as they made their plans. It had only been a few days, but Merle had greatly enjoyed their routine they’d gotten into; not to mention, he had sort of been hoping Davenport would stay long enough to meet his kids, at the very least. He said nothing, though, only allowing them the time to plan before collecting their empty dishes to clean off in the sink.

It was no surprise to Merle that Davenport insisted on sleeping in his ship again, though it did heavily disappoint him and Magnus when he departed for the night. Merle let out a sigh as the door closed gently behind Davenport, turning instead to find a collection of pillows and blankets for Magnus and his dogs.

“He seems...” Magnus paused. “...Tired.”

Merle nodded. “He does, doesn’t he? I think he’s just been dealing with all those memories.”

Magnus sighed, leaning his head into his hand. “Yeah. Who knew a hundred years’ worth of memories would be so much to process?”

“I know, right? You get ‘em all back in a day, and you should just get to be done with them. Y’know?”

Magnus laughed as he leaned back in his seat. “Yeah. I know what you mean. But y’know, maybe him coming back and hanging out with us is good for him. Coming from personal experience here, I don’t think hanging out out there all alone would really _help_ that.”

Merle nodded in agreement. “I don’t think so, either. But hey, he’s back now! That’s...that’s great.”

Merle trailed off a little bit at the end of his sentence, remembering Davenport would be leaving in the morning. One of Magnus’ dogs nudged her head underneath his hand, so he scratched her ears idly as he imagined going back to not speaking to him for months at a time.

“...You don’t sound happy about that.” Magnus observed.

“What? It’s nothing.” Merle insisted. “You better get some sleep, if you’re leaving first thing in the morning.”

“Oh, c’mon, Merle!” Magnus complained. “What’s on your mind? Tell me!”

Merle was quiet for a few moments longer, as Magnus started chanting “tell me, tell me, tell me!” Until Merle finally caved.

“Alright, alright!” Merle interrupted. “I’m just...sad to see him go, to be honest. I’m happy he wants to see everyone else, but...I don’t know. I missed him.”

Magnus leaned forward, giving Merle his full attention. “...Yeah. He did just sorta disappear the minute we defeated the Hunger.”

“He did! And I guess I didn’t expect how nice it would be to catch up with him.” Merle admitted, combing his fingers through his beard thoughtfully. “I just thought he might be some good help around here, too. I really have no idea what I’m about to be getting into, helping Artemis set Bottlenose Cove back on track. I...guess I kinda want him to stay here.”

“Have you asked him to?”

Merle looked up at Magnus in surprise. “Huh? No.”

Magnus grinned at him. “Well, there’s nothing to lose by just _asking,_ right? He might really enjoy staying, at least for a little while! You don’t know until you offer.”

“Well, _yeah,_ I guess so. But...oh, I don’t wanna ask him to settle down or anything. I know he loves adventuring.” Merle waved his hand dismissively. “I think it’s best to let him go.”

Magnus just shrugged at Merle. “I don’t know, Merle. I think it might do him some good to settle down at least a little while.”

Merle crossed his arms as he thought about it. He imagined Davenport staying, helping Merle with the town, meeting his kids...living with him in the house...

“...Yeah.” Merle finally said quietly. “Yeah, there’s no harm in just asking.”

“Yeah!” Magnus exclaimed enthusiastically. “Go ahead, go ask him!”

“What—right now?” Merle asked in surprise.

“Yeah, we’ll be up early in the morning, you wouldn’t wanna miss your chance!” Magnus insisted, nudging Merle towards the door. “Go on!”

“Oh! Okay.”

Merle started towards the door of his new house, staring down the path towards the beach where Davenport must have walked. Before Merle knew it, he was jogging down the path, eyes landing on Davenport as he stood on the deck of his boat off in the distance. Merle waved at him, shouting his name until he saw Davenport perk up and look back at him.

Panting once he arrived at the dock, Merle had to pause, doubling over to catch his breath before he joined Davenport on the boat. Davenport looked at him with a confused smile.

“You alright, Merle? What’s going on?” He asked him.

“Would you—...” Merle stopped, taking a deep breath and trying to steady his heartrate. He stood upright, looking Davenport in the eye. “Would you stay in Bottlenose Cove with me?”

Davenport’s eyes widened as he stared at Merle, and maybe it was something about the lighting around them, but he could swear he thought he saw red rushing to his cheeks.

“O-oh!” Davenport blurted out. “I...do you _really_ want me to stay?”

“Yeah, Dav!” Merle replied with a smile. “I mean, I honestly could really use your help getting everything back in shape around here, if you’d be willing to help. But also...well...I’ve just missed you. I’d be really sad to see you go.”

Davenport didn’t reply for a long moment, but when he finally spoke again, he only sputtered for a few seconds before finally replying.

“I-I mean...yeah! I...I’ve missed you too, Merle.”

Merle’s heart began racing all over again at that. He knew he should say something; probably thank him for agreeing to stay, say something about how nice it was going to be, whatever, but anything sensible went right out the window.

“...I’m sorry I disappeared on you for a while.” Davenport continued suddenly. “It was just...everything that happened...I lost _so much._ I felt so far removed from it all once I got all my memories back, I just...I really didn’t know what to do with myself.”

Merle could only nod wordlessly.

“I was hoping it would all make sense if I just got some time to myself, and established a life on my own outside everything we went through. But honestly, being alone that long...I feel like I just...lost myself even more.” Davenport went on, crossing his arms uncomfortably. “I started to miss _all_ of you a lot. I guess I finally realized I don’t really want to establish anything apart from you all, I just...didn’t really know how to reintegrate myself into your lives, after you got all settled down.”

Merle chuckled, putting a hand on Davenport’s shoulder. “I’m sure everyone from the crew would be happy to see you settling back down close by! Just ‘cuz you were gone a while doesn’t mean we _forgot_ about you. You’re always more than welcome! Especially _here,_ I mean... _woof._ I’ll be really glad to have your help here.”

Davenport laughed a little, relaxing significantly. 

“...Listen, I get it.” Merle told him gently. “It’s a lot to think about. But you don’t have to go through all that processing alone.”

Before Merle knew it, Davenport had closed the gap between them, wrapping his arms around Merle tightly and burying his face in his shoulder. Merle’s eyes widened in surprise as he hugged Davenport back; it was nice— _very_ nice—but Davenport wasn’t normally so touchy like this, he recalled. He could get used to this.

“...Thank you, Merle.” Davenport murmured. “I’m really, _really_ happy you asked me to stay, honestly. I...wasn’t really sure I even wanted to go, I just didn’t think you wanted me to stick around at all.”

“Course I do!” Merle replied, rubbing his back gently. “It’s gonna be great, you’ll see. My kids are gonna love you.”

Davenport laughed suddenly as he pulled away, rubbing at his eyes. “Oh, man. I feel like I’m really gonna disappoint them.”

“What? How so?” Merle asked him, jabbing him playfully.

“I feel like everyone’s heard about all those things I did while we were running from the Hunger, and I’m not gonna be able to live up to that anymore.” Davenport admitted. “They know all those stories about me, and now I’m just...a sad guy who’s living out of his boat.”

“Oh, don’t give me that, I know they’ll really like you!” Merle insisted. “So, you’ve had a bit of a rut. That doesn’t take away from all the cool shit you’ve done before. I know that’s still in you!”

Davenport laughed again. “Alright, alright, I guess we’ll see.”

“Now seriously, Dav, come stay the night with me.” Merle said, taking Davenport by the hand to guide him off the boat. “If you’re settling down here, you might as well get a good nights’ sleep before you _really_ start settling. Besides, you wouldn’t wanna miss Magnus in the morning, right?”

“Yeah, I guess I wouldn’t.” Davenport agreed, following Merle with little trouble.

As the two of them walked along the path back to Merle’s new home, neither of them let go of each others’ hands.


End file.
